Wildfire
by DaughteroftheOneTrueKing
Summary: Harry has an idea


**Hi everyone! It's me, Hope again! This is another story for the Houses competition, where we've been given a bonus prompt for the final round! I am still Charms position, still on the LIons team. We have to write three chapters between three players, making them connected or have a similar theme, etc. I chose the prompt "wildfire" and I think what I have an idea for will be a great story! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Word Count:**

"All right, everyone, I want you to settle down!" Miss Rochester said to her class of eight year olds. Among them was Harry Potter. He was a scrawny little boy with raven black hair he liked to keep hanging over his forehead. He did so because it was a reminder of the loss of his parents, whom he didn't even remember. The only way he'd found out what they looked like was from exploring the boxes kept in his closet bedroom, where he'd found a picture of them hidden deep within one of them.

Harry was never associated with in class. The only one who treated him fairly well was their teacher, Miss Rochester. All the students avoided him, but Harry could understand that. No one wanted to get on the wrong side of his cousin Dudley.

Miss Rochester was still trying to keep her students' attention. "Settle down, now! We have a very important guest here to talk to you, and I want you to listen carefully to what he's saying." With that said, their teacher stepped back to her desk, giving their full attention to their guest for the day.

"Hi, guys," the man said, smiling at all of them. "I'm Deputy Allan Keen, and I work at the local fire station. I wanted to come today to tell you guys about something important. First off, does everyone know what a wildfire is?"

Several students raised their hands, including Harry. He had always wanted to be a firefighter, and paid special attention when teachers or adults mentioned anything about them. Deputy Keen pointed to Harry. "Young man, what is a wildfire?"

Harry let out an excited breath before he said, "It's when a little fire, like a campfire or a cigarette, starts a much bigger fire that a lot of people have to help stop."

Deputy Keen nodded, pulling out a few pictures that he'd put on the desk when he arrived. "That's exactly right. What's your name?"

"I'm Harry Potter." Some of the students laughed a bit when he spoke, but he tried to ignore them. He knew that none of them would bother him right now. It would be later that he would have to watch his back.

"Well, Harry, you're very smart. That's exactly what a wildfire is. And they're very dangerous. People I know and maybe even people you guys know go to try and put out these wildfires, and it takes days and even weeks to do. Right now, there's a wildfire going on here in England, and there are lots of brave people out there trying to put it out."

Harry continued to listen to Deputy Keen tell the class about the wildfire, and he felt that the men _were _extremely brave. He wanted to be as brave as they were. As they left class for lunch, he stayed behind to talk to the deputy.

"I want to be a firefighter when I'm older," he told Detective Kerr. "I want to be as brave as you guys are!"

Detective Kerr laughed quietly before he said, "Well, I have no doubt you'll have enough bravery to do the job." He took out a sticker from his pocket. "'Til then, you can be an honorary firefighter."

Harry put the sticker on, beaming with pride. "Thanks, Deputy Kerr!"

* * *

Later that day, Harry sat at the dinner table with his aunt, uncle, and cousin Dudley. Petunia set out the meal, and, as usual, Dudley ends up getting the most food.

"I saw the Halloween store full of shoppers today," Petunia said, sitting down at the table and starting to eat. "Miscreants. They won't get any candy here. I refuse to pay twenty pounds for a suit we'll wear once a year."

Dudley looked up from his meal. "We're not going trick-or-treating?"

Uncle Vernon looked up. "Indeed not! It's foolish and you could end up hurt."

Harry looked at Dudley, and saw the telltale signs of his cousin about to have a tantrum. His face grew red, and he drew a breath in order to shout, "I want to go out and get candy!"

Petunia glanced at her husband, and they seemed to agree for a moment. "No, Dudley," Vernon said. "It's too expensive, and it's so late in the season, they'll be extremely expensive!"

Dudley began to wail, "But… but I want to! I want a costume and I want to go and get candy!"

Dudley continued to shout, his sobs echoing through the dining room. Harry knew that Dudley wasn't actually crying, but had realized that if he pretended, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would pretty much give in to everything Dudley wanted.

"Okay, okay, Dudley," Petunia gave in eventually. "After dinner, we'll go to the general store to get a costume."

Harry knew that he wouldn't be getting a costume, of course, but it would be exciting to see all the new costumes that would be popular this year. He had no idea what Dudley would choose, but he knew he would choose a fireman's costume if he would ever get a chance to do so.

* * *

As soon as they finished eating, the Dursleys piled into the car. Harry was pretty surprised that they were allowing him to go with them, but it turned out that Mrs. Figg was in the hospital for the moment, and the other neighbors that they usually asked to watch Harry were busy.

Walking into the store, Harry saw lots of other parents with their children, many of them wearing several pieces of different costumes. He saw a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, some girls dressed as doctors and princesses, and army boys.

One of the shop's employees came over to them. "You guys here to get a costume? You'd better hurry, lots of the best ones are running out!"

"We are," Petunia told him, allowing a note of disdain in her tone. "Dudley, what do you want to dress up as?"

Dudley thought for a moment (Harry imagined it hurt quite a bit), before he said, "I want to be a ninja master."

The employee looked something up on his clipboard. "We have that in store, you're in luck. How about you, kiddo?" The employee turned to Harry. The Dursleys looked stricken, but it was too late for them to drag him away without looking cruel.

"I want to be a firefighter!" Harry said excitedly. "We had a firefighter in class today, and he told us about the wildfires going on, and all the people who are trying to stop it. I want to be one when I grow up!"

The employee laughed as he said, "That's a noble thing to aspire to." He searched again on his clipboard, before saying, "We do have firefighter costumes as well. The ninja costume is in aisle three, and the fireman costume is in aisle eight. Let us know if you need help finding anything else tonight!" The employee headed off to help other people, leaving the Dursleys and Harry alone to figure out where everything was.

They all headed towards the indicated aisles, where they found the indicated costumes. Dudley quickly found his ninja costume, and pushed Harry aside as they headed for the changing rooms in order to make sure they had the right sizes. Harry was in disbelief as he picked out the fireman's costume from the shelf, and kept examining the pieces until Aunt Petunia told him that he needed to stop messing with it or he'd destroy it.

Finally, Harry was able to get his turn in the dressing room. Putting on the different pieces, he grew excited. The Dursleys had never let him get a costume before, and so it was a great occasion. Staring at himself in the mirror, he began to feel like a firefighter. He could imagine himself with the other firemen, all working together to fight off a dangerous force of nature.

"Come on, boy!" Vernon shouted from outside the changing room. "We're not going to dawdle all day on your account!"

Harry quickly changed into his normal oversized clothing, but in his mind, he was still in the midst of fighting that wildfire with his comrades.


End file.
